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Digital Downloads
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 18 September 2008 08:02 |
 The Witches are no longer needed, the 501st is disbanded, and the Warlock unit becomes mankind's hope for victory over the Neuroi. But when in anime where things ever so simple? The developers of the Warlock have been meddling with technology they knew little about, and that's about to come back and bite them...
The military have a new toy: the Warlock, an automated, high-powered striker unit under the command of the 1st Special Assault Force. With that on their hands, military command no longer see any need for the 501st, and the unit is disbanded. Something about the situation doesn't feel right, though - Yoshika remembers seeing images of the Warlock unit while she was inside the Neuroi hive and realises it's partly based on Neuroi technology and wants to investigate further. With the girls under orders to return home, that would mean disobeying orders again, and at first it looks like no-one is prepared to do that - but Minna realises she's on to something and waits for the right time to look into the matter herself. Meanwhile, the Warlock is send into action against the Neuroi hive, but after a successful initial attack, the unit breaks its control link with the ground and begins attacking human targets...
Where last episode was intriguing, this episode takes a more action-oriented approach and loses some of its appeal as a result. The manly men of the military have had enough being one-upped by a bunch of school-aged girls, and the Warlock is their way of regaining the upper hand. Oh, how manly of them. Unfortunately, with a Neuroi core at its.. er, core, the Warlock soon turns out to have a mind of its own, and after wiping out a large chunk of the Neuroi hive it turns its attention on its former masters. Hands up if you saw that coming.
Most of the episode is given up to the disbandment of the 501st, and the mayhem the Warlock then goes on to cause - the fightback by the girls, that we know is bound to come, will have to wait until next episode (the final in the series). I would have liked to see more about the Neuroi and the tantalising snippets of trust and communication that Yoshika was able to get out of them - there's a plotline there that's just begging to be explored - but it's looking at the moment as though that's going to be ignored, and that's a real shame. With so much of the focus here being on posturing and combat, there's just not enough substance to really get into to make the episode as enjoyable as the last one - and with little or no fanservice, the mindless titillation route to enjoyment isn't there, either.
Looking forward to the finale, though, and hoping the series goes out on a high. We'll soon see.
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